Health boom speeds up

Cheryl Powell

Nov. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- It's official: The Cleveland Clinic is coming to Summit County with specialty services and round-the-clock care.

The Northeast Ohio health-care giant today is holding a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of its future $96 million Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Center off state Route 91 near Interstate 480.

When it opens in 2011, it will be the clinic's first outpatient center with a 24-hour emergency department and a helipad to transport critically ill patients to the main hospital in Cleveland.

The project also will include primary care and specialty services, a surgery center, radiology and testing capabilities.

The Cleveland Clinic's market research indicated the need for more health-care services in northern Summit County's fast-growing, affluent tier, which includes Twinsburg, Hudson and sur

rounding communities.

"They will definitely be able to get in quickly for access to specialty care at that facility," said Dr. Cynthia Deyling, chairwoman of the Cleveland Clinic's Regional Operations Institute. "That's our goal. It's really full service."

Northeast Ohio hospitals increasingly are competing for suburban patients by opening outpatient facilities and satellite ERs throughout the region.

In nearby Stow, Akron General Health System operates its Health and Wellness Center-North, which includes a 24-hour ER.

"We feel strongly entrenched in Stow and not at all threatened," Akron General spokesman Jim Gosky said.

Summa Health System of Akron also plans to join with physicians in the next couple of years to open a 100-bed hospital off state Route 8 near the planned Seasons Road interchange.

"Their project has no bearing on our project, and we wish them the best with their efforts," Summa spokesman Mike Bernstein said of the Cleveland Clinic's plans.

In addition, Cleveland-based University Hospitals two years ago opened its UH Twinsburg Health Center, which includes outpatient diagnostic, primary-care and specialty services, as well as an extended-hours urgent care center.

Urban hospitals are fighting for customers by opening "one-stop shopping" outpatient centers closer to their suburban homes, said Thomas S. Campanella, director of the health-care M.B.A. program at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea.

At the same time, he said, doctors are joining together to open outpatient centers.

"From a patient standpoint, it provides choice in many ways," Campanella said. "With competition, providers are forced to provide better services from a quality standpoint and from an access-to-care standpoint."

However, he said, expanded and duplicated services can drive up the overall cost of medical care for businesses and government programs if those efforts result in patients getting more tests and procedures.

The Cleveland Clinic announced plans for the 190,000-square-foot Twinsburg facility in late 2007, but the project was stalled for nearly a year by wetlands concerns raised by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The hospital system agreed to move its building and make other design changes to address those concerns.

The clinic estimates the project will bring 300 jobs to Twinsburg and generate more than $600,000 in local income taxes and $1.3 million in state payroll taxes.

The hospital is financing the project through a combination of bonds, cash and donations, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The center will offer primary-care services but focus mostly on medical specialties, Deyling said.

"We've been working with the community physicians in the Twinsburg and northern Summit County area on committees, and they felt the need for more specialty services," she said. "We felt there was a real need in Twinsburg for this type of health care."

The center will include cardiology, colorectal surgery, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, urology, vascular surgery and 29 other medical specialties.

In addition, the project will house a 12-bay ER and an outpatient surgery center with four operating rooms, two endoscopy suites and two procedure rooms.

The clinic's medical facility in Sagamore Hills Township will remain open, along with the Twinsburg Medical Center run by Cleveland Clinic affiliate South Pointe Hospital.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0006-39481699